Finally Tomorrow
by aylaa
Summary: Rinoa and Seifer, afterwards.


Final Fantasy 8 is property of its respective copyright owners. No profit is being made from the following work.

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It had been some time since she had last seen him. He had disappeared shortly after the defeat of Ultimecia and it had taken months of sorting through informant accounts before his location was reliably determined. With his pants rolled up above his knees, feet in the water and fishing rod extended, he looked like an average man, not one which bore the weight of the world in guilt. His honey blonde hair, longer and more unkempt now, fluttered ever so slightly in the wind of the sunny summer day.

As she walked closer to him, cutting across and down the hill towards the dock, memories crept up into her mind of a summer not too long ago. She had been so young, so impressionable and so in love with him. He was everything she had dreamed of, dashing, handsome, wild.. the opposite of her father in every way. His smiles used to lift her up to a high she felt could never come down from those dizzying heights. They had not parted on unhappy terms; it seemed to be a mutual understanding that the summer's end would mark the end of their relationship as well. She had shed bitter tears over the loneliness anyways, and had wondered if he had felt the same. Perhaps it was not meant to be, a relationship based on the idolic worship seemed so childish now that she thought about it. She couldn't help it if a part of her lingered around those treasured memories and still felt a sharp rush of loving emotion at the very sight of him.

He heard her soft footsteps on the old boards of the dock and turned to see who had come to disturb him from his tranquility. A woman, fresh from the cusp of girlhood, with long raven tresses and large brown eyes smiled at him. He nodded in greeting, somewhat confused at her appearance yet not surprised. She paused to take off her shoes before sitting down beside him, letting bare toes skim across the cool water. She was the first to break the silence.

"Why did you disappear?"

The question hung in the air. He knew that she would ask, otherwise she wouldn't be here, looking for him, making sure he was alive and more or less well. He had his own reasons for why he did not come back to the place which had been his home for the past decade.

He shrugged finally, trying to seem as nonchalant as possible. "I've always wanted to be a career fisherman."

She sighed. She knew that getting answers from him would be like pulling teeth. But still, she wanted to know why he would just not come back. She wanted to rest assured that part of the reason wasn't because of her.

"Seifer, we miss you."

He snorted at this one, jostling the fishing rod slightly. "Who's this 'we'? I doubt anyone cares that I'm gone."

She tried again. "Seifer, I miss you. Doesn't that count for anything?"

He turned to face her, jaded green meeting warm brown. He remembered like it was yesterday, how he felt like her eyes hypnotized his very soul. Things had not been that way for some time, and the present was what was real. Perhaps if anything, he owed her the truth at least. Reeling in the line, he placed the rod down beside him and tried to compose himself mentally.

"I think I lost myself in the last few months, pieces of my humanity had been eaten away bit by bit by the magic which bound me to her. And maybe I'm just not ready to face anyone, even those who aren't out to judge me." He paused, sighing and running a hand through his messy hair in an unintentional semblance of his childhood rival. He continued; "I feel like an old man, I'm tired and sorry for all the things that I've done."

She placed a hand on his arm; it couldn't have been easy for him, having to turn against those whom he knew best. His face was thinner now, more gaunt and his eyes looked weary. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and whisper that everything will be alright, but it seemed that nothing will be alright ever again.

They fell into a companionable silence disturbed only by the soft swish of the incoming tide against the dock and the odd cry of a seagull. She felt serene, sitting here at the edge of an out of way town with him.

He broke the quiet this time, disturbing Rinoa from her reverie. "Do you love him?"

"I think I do." She replied, so softly that the slightest water ripple could have drowned out her words. There was a time when she felt the so strongly towards the man who was with her now, yet what she felt most of all for this fallen knight at the moment was sympathy. It was sympathy for a man who was the unfortunate victim of circumstance and fate, a puppet who was now cast aside, defeated and broken. Yet there was still something else that stirred, and almost instinctively she reached for the rings which dangled around her neck, cupping them with her hand to remind herself of the love from and for another.

Seifer nodded slightly, even though his old rival had once stirred feelings of jealousy, bitterness and anger, he felt that this could be the man that could make her happy. She deserved happiness, and he was in no position to give that to her. He wondered if she had ever been happy with him, or was it just an extra interesting novelty because he seemed to be so in love with her. He still wished that he was the one she bestowed her loving smiles on; he felt those telltale pangs of traitorous envy stirring within him.

"I still love you."

The words, once again whispered spoken tore him apart. Emotions swirled inside him but he knew that she didn't mean them. She had said them to make a broken man happy if only for one moment.

"You don't feel that way." was his reply, his voice sounding strained and tight.

"I would leave him for you."

Seifer shook his head. Perhaps Rinoa had not grown up after all, if she was caught up in this childhood fantasy. Part of him wanted to jump for joy; she loved him despite everything. But the more realistic part of him said that this was not meant to be. She belonged to someone else now, and someone else could make her happy. He spent his days fighting the inner demons inside himself; he couldn't possibly be that everything for someone else when he couldn't be there most of the time for himself.

She started to speak, but he placed a finger over her mouth, silencing her. He felt that she had said enough for this visit and it was his turn to talk now. And perhaps this may the last talk they would have for some time so he was prepared to make it impressionable.

"Love.. cannot be everything. He can give you the world, and maybe that's what you deserve. Most of all, he loves you. Even if I still love you, I don't have anything to offer."

He sighed and paused. "Please go home." It was not a suggestion, rather, it was Seifer in a tone that broached no question.

She felt silent tears run down her face but she knew that perhaps things were no longer the same as those summers ago. She could be happy with him, she felt but perhaps he was not ready to let himself be happy just yet. And nor did she want to spend forever waiting for a man intent on doing an unspoken penance when another would welcome her with open arms. She slowly stood up, stretching her arms upwards with her shoes in one hand.

"You can always come and visit us." she tried, for the last time. He shook his head in response. He wondered if she invited him only because she knew that he would never come back.

"Goodbye Rinoa."

"Goodbye." she replied as she slipped her shoes on, before walking up the hill towards the waiting airship.

She did not turn back, nor did he turn to look at her retreating figure.


End file.
